International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• International Paper Company has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from nine research firms, with recommendations varying from three sell ratings to five buy ratings.
• Analysts have set an average 1-year target price of $55.65 for the stock, while recent evaluations include a downgrade to "strong sell" by Zacks and an upgrade to "buy" by Bank of America.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4625 per share, yielding approximately 4.1%, despite a large negative dividend payout ratio of -1,850.00%.

International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.65.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IP. Zacks Research downgraded shares of International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Bank of America raised shares of International Paper from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of International Paper from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of International Paper from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $55.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $43.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Thursday, July 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Paper news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total transaction of $409,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,259,951.69. This represents a 24.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in International Paper by 2.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,879,190 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,991,462,000 after buying an additional 1,255,650 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in International Paper by 8.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,798,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,763,426,000 after purchasing an additional 4,201,422 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in International Paper by 3.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,386,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,376,175,000 after purchasing an additional 902,741 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in International Paper by 9.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 18,737,896 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $877,496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in International Paper by 2.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,340,382 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $622,133,000 after purchasing an additional 294,296 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company's stock.

International Paper Stock Performance

IP stock opened at $45.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -453.40, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.56. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $43.27 and a fifty-two week high of $60.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. International Paper had a positive return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 42.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that International Paper will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. International Paper's dividend payout ratio is currently -1,850.00%.

About International Paper

International Paper Company produces and sells renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products in North America, Latin America, Europe, and North Africa. It operates through two segments, Industrial Packaging and Global Cellulose Fibers. The company offers linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium and saturating kraft; and pulp for a range of applications, such as diapers, towel and tissue products, feminine care, incontinence, and other personal care products, as well as specialty pulps for use in textiles, construction materials, paints, coatings, and others.

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